


The Gates Close

by thesmolestnerd



Series: The Cringe (TM) Collection [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hurt Annabeth, Hurt Percy Jackson, Hurt/Comfort, injury recover, this was written before all of heroes of olympus came out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 08:57:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17281043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesmolestnerd/pseuds/thesmolestnerd
Summary: After they escape Taturus, Percy and Annabeth recover at Camp Half-Blood. Percy thinks about events as he waits for Annabeth to wake up.





	The Gates Close

                We were finally pulled out of Tartarus. Annabeth was dragged out behind me, unconscious. I was so glad we were safe. The prophecy was over. No one had died and Annabeth and I were out of Tartarus. Jason and Frank put their arms around my shoulder.

                 “We need to get back to Camp Half-Blood,” Frank said, “stop Camp Jupiter’s attack.” I nodded, and almost slipped down. Jason caught me.

                “Him and Annabeth are in no condition to do anything, and Annabeth is the only one who knows what to do with the Mark of Athena,” said Jason. I looked over at Annabeth. Leo, Nico, and Piper were caring her onto the _Argo II._ I had realized I was shaking. “C’mon, Percy.” Jason and Frank helped me onto the ship and brought me down into the cabins.

                “Annabeth…” I said, my voice horse, “don’t…don’t separate us…” I tried to turn around and fell.

                “Gods, you’re stubborn,” Jason muttered. We turned around and I was put on the bed next to Annabeth’s in the infirmary. She was still unconscious, but Piper was sitting next to her, carefully dripping ambrosia into her mouth. Hazel looked dazed, like she couldn’t believe she was alive. And, honestly, I guess she couldn’t. I tried to push myself up. A shooting pain stabbed through my body. I gasped.

                “Don’t try to move,” said Piper. She looked like she was going move over to me.

                “No,” I said, “don’t…I don’t need…agh…I don’t need anything.” Piper rolled her eyes at me.

                “Don’t try to be noble,” she stood up and walked over. She shoved a spoonful of ambrosia in my mouth. I swallowed. It tasted warm and like chocolate-chip cookies. I fell back on several pillows that propped up my head. “Sleep,” she said. I didn’t want to sleep. Bad things happen when I close my eyes. But I was exhausted…

*************************************************************************************

                I was dying. My life was getting sucked out of me. Everything was ending. They were dying. Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Nico, Thalia, Frank… I screamed. Something was chocking me. I was drowning…dying.

                “NO!” I yelled. I sprung up. The sheet was wrapped around my neck and I was soaked in sweat. I was wearing a light blue t-shirt, and gray sweat pant. They were drenched. I was gasping and gulping for air. I pushed my black hair out of my face. I felt a pang in my stomach. I felt sick. I puked over the end of the bed. I wiped the vomit from around my mouth with my arm. I stood up. My legs wouldn’t hold me. I stumbled around. Everything was blurry. I was dizzy. I fell hard on the wood floor. I saw a pair of arms grab me and drag me back up and drop me onto the bed. “Annabeth…” I muttered.

                “Do I looked like Annabeth?” said the stranger, “gods, a little respect for the god of the wild.” I knew that one.

                “Grover…?” I asked. I saw his face. It was Grover. He smiled. Everything faded.

*************************************************************************************

                It was attacking me again. The monsters. The spiders. They were here. “Dad, help!” I yelled. He couldn’t hear me here. I was going to die. Annabeth was going to die.

                Then I heard a voice. Firm and real. “I believe you,” it said, “Jackson was strong. He wouldn’t be like this unless he was actually dragged through Tartarus. Same with his girlfriend.” Reyna. I could hear another voice.

                “I don’t trust them! They attacked us, don’t you remember!” said another person. Octavian. Slimy, traitorous, no good…

                “I believe,” Reyna sighed, “that Gaea could have been trying to turn us against eachother. And while I believe that they still owe us.” I could feel her glaring. “They are forgiven, in light of what happened to everyone. Especially, Jackson and Annabeth.” I felt someone touch my arm. “It is such a shame…”

*************************************************************************************

                I heard Annabeth scream. That woke me up. I sat straight up and looked around. She was still screaming.  I was about to try to stand up when someone shoved my shoulder back down against the bed. I tried to sit up.

                “Sorry Jackson, no,” said the girl sitting over me. I looked at her.

                “Clarisse?” I asked, confused. She nodded.

                “Yeah, me,” she said. Annabeth screamed again. I tried to push myself up, but she held me down with one hand.

                “No, she’s fine. You’ll just hurt yourself,” said Clarisse. I wrestled with her arm.

                “Jackson, just stop,” she said, “you’re just embarrassing yourself.”  I didn’t care. I had to see Annabeth. I had to see that she was ok. Her screams haunted me.

                “ANNABETH!” I yelled. Clarisse looked panicked.

                “Jackson, shut up, you’ll wake her up,” she said urgently. I looked at her.

                “What?” I asked.

                “She’s having a night terror, moron, if she hears you screaming she’ll freak…again,” she said. I nodded, slowly.

                “Oh,” I said. The screaming stopped. It turned into sobbing. I faced Clarisse. “Let me see her.” I said.

                “Or what, punk?” she replied. There was a glass of water next to me. I willed that the water would soak her and make her let go of me. It splashed her. Clarisse sighed. She gave me a spoonful of ambrosia. I didn’t realize it wasn’t actually ambrosia until after I swallowed it.

*************************************************************************************

                I woke up properly this time. No screaming or nightmares. I opened my eyes slowly. I was lying on my side, tangled in my sheets. I was really wet and sweaty. Everything was stuck to me. I looked around. It seemed fairly empty. There was only the nose of faint breathing coming from behind the curtain next to him. Every once in a while it would hitch and she would cry a little. Annabeth. I rolled and tried to untangle myself. I fell on the floor with a thud. I swore accidently. I looked around. No one had come running in. I pulled off the sheet and threw it on the bed. I pushed myself up and leaned on the bed standing up. My legs felt weak and I was nauseous. The room spun. I stood up and waited for it to stop. I was still alone. I took a step. My leg shook but I didn’t fall. I walked over to the curtain. I took a deep breath and pulled it back.

Annabeth was lying on the bed. She looked so thin and fragile. Her blonde hair hung in a halo around her face. I limped over and sat down at the end of her bed. I grabbed her hand. It was hot. She looked like she was covered in sweat like me. Her head jerked around and she made little crying noises. Her head jerked a littler.   

“Shhhhhhhhh,” I said, grabbing her hand. Her breathing evened out and she stopped crying. I leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. “Love you, Wise Girl.”

“Percy!” I turned around. There stood Piper. I blushed. The daughter of Aphrodite caught me kissing my unconscious girlfriend. Well, this was awkward. “I didn’t know you were awake. How do you feel?” I shrugged.

“I’m just dizzy…and hot,” I said. Then I blushed. “I meant that temperature-wise.” She smiled.

“It’s fine,” Piper said, “you need to get back to bed though.” I looked over at Annabeth. “She’ll be fine. C’mon.” I stood up and almost fell. Piper grabbed my shoulder. “Woah. I got you.” She help me into bed. Then she handed me some nectar and a cup of apple sauce and a glass of water. I wolfed it all down.

“If you eat any faster, you’ll puke it all up, slow down, Percy!” she said. I nodded and swallowed.

“Sorry,” I said. I heard Annabeth cry. Piper stood up.

“I got to go. Stay.” She walked over and I leaned forward trying to get another glimpse of Annabeth. I couldn’t. I finished off the applesauce, and Piper didn’t come back. There was a bowl of water next to the bed. I put my hand in the bowl of water and let it run all over my arms and clean off all the sweat. It wasn’t as good as s real shower, but it felt better. I pushed my hair out of her face. It was gross. Piper came back. She looked sad.

“Hey,” she said, sounding a little disappointed. She shook her head a little, and smile. “Still feeling good?”

“I feel gross,” I said,” I need a shower.” She laughed.

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, “and here, you want to take this.” She handed me a pill. I looked at it.

“What is it?” I asked. I rolled it over in the palm of my hand.

“It’s a sleeping pill,” she said, quietly, “whatever happened in Tartarus…it messed you up. Annabeth too.” I nodded and looked at it. I took it and lied down.

“Thank you, Piper,” I said, flipping around.

“No prob, Percy,” I said.  She left. I kept thinking about Annabeth. She seemed like she was doing worse than me. Oh gods, she better not die. I need her. I need her so much. Gods. I felt myself getting heavier. I closed my eyes.

*************************************************************************************

                I woke up again. I think it was morning. There was a blue muffin on the bedside table and a glass of water. I sat up and grabbed the muffin shoving it in my mouth. I gulped down the glass of water. There was a note on the bedside table.

Percy,

You may go out the lake today.

-Chiron

                I sat up and picked up the note. On top of it was a glass of ambrosia. I drank it and felt much better. I sat up and slid off the bed. I pulled on my Converse, and stood up. It wasn’t as bad as it was yesterday. I walked towards the door, but stopped in front of the curtain. I walked around it.

Annabeth still looked sick and weak. I didn’t look that great either, but at least I was awake and walking. I went over and kissed her.

“Get well, ok?” I said. I walked out of the infirmary.

I walked around the Big House and passed all the cabins. I saw some Romans and Greeks hanging out and training. It was so weird. They had hated each other, how long ago? I don’t know how long I had been out. A couple people looked over at me and nodded. I’m the famous Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, god of the sea, defender of humans, gods and demigods. I’ll never be left alone. I walked over to the dock.  I stripped to my underwear. I wanted to get properly wet. I took a deep breath and dived in.

It felt so good. My strength seemed to return, my sense of piece. I took a deep breath. Home at last. None of the sea creatures bothered me. They seemed to know now wasn’t the time to ask me for help. I kept going down, lower and lower, until if I was a normal human the pressure would have killed me. I remembered my first underwater kiss with Annabeth. Gods, I miss hanging out with her. I miss her. I prayed to Dad that he would give me strength. I rubbed my face and started swimming up.           

When I surfaced I couldn’t believe who was there. Reyna stood on the sock looking out of place in her purple praetor cape, standing on the dock holding a towel. It got even worse when I came out of the water in my boxers completely dry. She just kinda dropped the towel. I pulled on my pants.

“Hey,” I said, “sorry I-”

“It’s fine, Jackson,” she said, “I just wanted to ask you how you felt.”

“Uh… great,” I said. This was awkward. “How long was I out?”

“About three weeks,” she said, “the Greeks and the Romans…we have been making amends. Some of them are rather good at combat.” She gave me a smile. “Jason Grace is the other preator, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It’s fine,” I said, “It should be him.” Reyna nodded.

“Your…er, half-brother has been worried about you. He wasn’t hasn’t been allowed to see you since your return.”  I need to drop by the Poseidon cabin and say hi to Tyson, ok, good. “Jackson,” said Reyna, her voice suddenly changing. “What exactly happened at the House of Hades?” I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I don’t really remember. I remember pain…and fear…and destruction…

“I don’t know,” I said, “ask Jason.” Reyna sighed.

“He won’t tell me. No one will tell me.” Clearly I am missing something. I guess I need to talk to the Seven, too.

“I dunno why. I’ll talk to them later.” I said.

“Thanks, Jackson,” she said. She left. I finished pulling on my clothes and headed to the infirmary.

*************************************************************************************

                I had felt a lot better when I got in the water, but now I was starting to feel drained again. I sighed and rubbed my face. When I looked up I was standing face-to-face with Leo.

                “Er, hi,” he said, awkwardly.

                “Hi,” I said. We stood there for a second not talking. “Why aren’t you telling anyone what happened at the Doors of Death?” I blurted out. Leo looked taken aback.

                “Why would I tell them? You told us not to, and besides, they might not think of you ask such a selfless hero if they knew…” Leo said. I looked at him puzzled.

                “What?” Leo shook his head.

                “Clarisse wasn’t lying…”he said, “you don’t remember…” I got scared. What did he mean?

                “What?” I asked again.

                “Clarisse found at package by your bed,” said Leo, “it said for whoever could to open it and give it to you. It would supposedly help you get better. We thought it could be from Poseidon, but Clarisse said that she thought it would wipe your memory of the event. I guess she was right.” I couldn’t believe it. I did remember it. Not completely and not most of it, but I knew what happened.

                “No,” I said, “but I remember it…I know what happened!” Leo looked up at me. He didn’t look like the jokester and the funny, light kid I met only a few months ago. His transformation was almost as drastic as Nico’s was all those years ago.

                “Leo, I’m so sorry-” I said.

                “It’s fine, Percy,” he said. He patted my shoulder awkwardly, and walked passed me. I just kept shaking my head. Would Dad/Poseidon really drug me? I thought about Annabeth and realized I would probably be as bad as Annabeth if I hadn’t been drugged. I walked over back into the Infirmary.             

                I couldn’t believe who was standing there. There was a tall blonde woman standing there. She had on a white blouse and jeans. Her hands were on Annabeth’s temples and her eyes were closed. Annabeth’s face looked relaxed and peaceful. I smiled, and took a step closer. Athena’s hand dropped and she turned around and glared at me. Annabeth started whining and crying.    

                “Shhh,” she said. Athena rubbed Annabeth’s face, then she put her fingers on Annabeth’s temples again. Her breathing slowed, and she curled up on her side. Athena pushed Annabeth’s hair out of her face.

                “Perseus Jackson,” she hissed. I gulped. “Please be quiet.” Her voice softened. For a second I could almost pretend they were a normal mother and daughter. Then I snapped out of it. She was Athena, goddess of wisdom, and she did not approve of me.

                “What are you doing here?” I asked, a little too rudely.

                “I am in no mood for your disrespect, Jackson,” she snapped, “your father may have helped you, but unfortunately Hypnos won’t do me a favor, so I must resort to me own methods.” I felt sorry for Athena. It wasn’t her fault Zeus didn’t let her see her kids.

                “Sorry,” I mumbled. She sighed, and reached for a cup of ambrosia and started spoon feeding Annabeth.

                “It’s not your fault, Jackson,” she said, “and I would like to thank you.” I gave her a weird look. “For saving my daughter at the House of Hades. You are trouble, Jackson, but you did save her life, and for that, I thank you.” She looked back at Annabeth. She looked so peaceful. Then I realized this was my fault. Everything was. Annabeth would have had a regular demigod life if it weren’t for me. I should’ve stayed at Calypso’s island, or better yet, I should’ve let Mrs. Dodds kill me. I heard Athena sigh.

                “Jackson, do not make me comfort you,” she said. I was startled. “I have low level telepathic abilities. Also you aren’t particularly hard to read.” I blushed, and looked down. “I hate to admit it, but I suppose…she needed you, Percy. Without you she wouldn’t have gotten Thalia back. The camp would have been destroyed years ago. I do not want you anywhere near my daughter, but you have helped the gods.” Athena is grateful I exist. Wow, today is full of surprises. Annabeth stirred. Her eyes opened. They were glossed over with fever.

                “Mom…” she croaked. Annabeth looked up at me. “Percy…” I took a step closer.

                “Hey,” I said. Annabeth looked up at me and looked about ready to say something to me. Then her face fell.

                “They’re after me,” she said, “it’s so dark. They-they’re…” she started coughing. Athena put her hands on Annabeth’s temple. Terror passed through her eyes.

                “Shhhhh,” said Athena. Annabeth’s eyes drooped.

                “Per-cy…” she said, and then she closed her eyes and passed out. It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen. I kept shaking my head. Athena looked at me.

                “All I can do is try to repair the damage,” she said. I had never seen a goddess look helpless. It was almost as bad as Annabeth’s freak out. I always thought of gods as all powerful assholes. Now I realized that that wasn’t necessarily true. They did actually care for their kids. I heard a rumble of thunder. “Zeus has noticed my more frequent visits and isn’t very happy. I have to go.” She kissed her daughter on the forehead. “Good-bye, Percy Jackson.” She disappeared in a blinding light. I took her position beside the bed.

*************************************************************************************

                It went like that for days. I sat by Annabeth’s bedside giving her nectar and ambrosia. Athena didn’t come by again. I don’t think she could or maybe she didn’t feel like she could do anything more than what I was doing. I was so alone, and it hurt so much. Everyone kept trying to comfort me but no one knew what to say. I mean, there’s no place that tells you what to say when to say to the boyfriend of a girl who fell into the pit of hell and went insane. Everyone was being nice to me. Clarisse was being nice to me. Octavian wasn’t but he was an asshole, so…he acted accordingly. Once I overheard him saying Annabeth deserved what he got. The next time I saw him, I was passing by his bed on my way to Annabeth’s. No one stood in my way. I barely ate. Now I slept back at the Poseidon cabin with Tyson, but we hardly spoke. I think he was kinda scared of me now. I ate, slept, took care of Annabeth, and swam. She was getting slightly better. Well, that is she would wake up more often, but I’m not really sure that classifies as better. We did manage to almost have a conversation once or twice. That was good. Sometimes I wished she could forgot like I did, but honestly, if I could make her forget I’m not sure if I’d do it…

*************************************************************************************

                It had been a week and a half since I had started watching Annabeth. It had been almost a month and a half since the prophecy. Most of the Romans had gone back, but some had stayed here and some Greeks had gone there. We were mixing. That was good, I guess.              

                I rubbed my face and rolled over in bed. I need to get up and eat. I need to train, I’m out of shape. It’s not like I would fight though. It’s not like anyone would let me fight either. I stood up, and groaned. I ate and showered and changed and made my way to the Infirmary. I walked all the way to the back of the building where Annabeth’s bed was. There was a package by her bed with an OPS postage stamp on it. It was a small cardboard box. It was addressed to me. There was no return address. I grabbed Annabeth’s knife from the bedside table, and opened it carefully. Inside was a little bottle and a note. I opened the note. It was written in awful script I could hardly read. After a moment the letters sorted themselves out:

                Perseus Jackson,

I’m doing this for Jason. After all I put you through the boy said he wanted me to repay you and heal Annabeth Chase. I don’t like the girl. That’s very clear. I am of course held to my promises so I will give you something to help the poor girl.  Enclosed is a bottle full of something Hypnos gave me to erase memories. Give her one spoonful and she will be returned to her old self. I suppose that’s what you want. It will, unfortunately, erase all her memories from when she fell into Tartarus until you give it to her. Whatever you two did down there, even the little bit you remember she won’t. You will never know exactly what happened down there. It’s your choice, Jackson. Make the wise one.

Sincerely,

Greek Goddess of   marriage, woman, and birth,

And Queen of Olympus,

Hera

And

Roman Goddess of marriage, woman, and birth,

Queen of Olympus,

Protector and special counselor of the state,

Juno

                My first thought was, “damn she has a lot of titles.” And my second was the realization of the decision I needed to make. Honestly I dint care to much about not knowing what happened with Annabeth in Tartatrus, but I knew what we learned and whatever had happened down there was important and not knowing would torture Annabeth. I didn’t want to pain her. I wanted to help her. She couldn’t go on living like this forever.  Soon she’d die, first of all, so I need some kind of solution. I looked at the bottle it was a small clear bottle. I put it back in the box on the bedside table. I started spoon feeding her nectar.

                Later that day, her eyes fluttered open. She coughed a little and pushed herself up a bit so she wouldn’t choke on her vomit, as she puked into a dish. She fell back. Then she curled up in a little ball on her side, facing away from me. I reached out to touch her arm. At first she filched but then she relaxed. 

                “Percy,” she whispered her voice horse and unused, “Am I dying?” That hit me hard. She was not dying. She did not survive all this time to leave me now. No.

                “Of course you aren’t dying,” I said, “you’re going to stay right here with me, and Thaila, and Grover, and Piper, and your Dad…” She coughed again.

                “I wish I would die,” she said. I felt myself go numb. No, she can’t… “I-I don’t m-mean it like that…” She was fading out again. “It-it just h-hurts…” Her eyes closed. I walked around her and started feeding her ambrosia. I need to wipe her memory. If I don’t she’ll go even more insane. I need to do it. I have to do it. It’s in her best interest. I grabbed for the bottle. My hand stopped inches away from it. I can’t. I need to think.

*************************************************************************************

                I asked Piper if she could watch Annabeth while I got swim. She agreed and I headed to the lake. It was painful. It brought back memories. I dived into the water fully dressed. Everything felt clearer in my head.  I kept going down, lower and lower. I needed the peace and quiet of the water. Or not.

                A large shadow moved by me. I uncapped Riptide. Instead of a large murderous sea beast, there stood Poseidon.

                “Dad?” I asked. Severally bubbles came out but I think he knew what I meant.

                “Hello Percy,” said. He was dressed like a fisherman, like he usually was, and had my same dark hair. He looked worried. “What you did at the House of Hades was remarkable.”

                “I bet,” I said, with slight sarcasm, “shame I can’t remember.” He looked embarrassed.

                “I’m sorry, I had to,” he said.

                “I know.” And I did. “And now you’re here to tell me to do the same for Annabeth.” He sighed.

                “She is a daughter of the goddess of wisdom, not knowing doesn’t suit her… she’ll wonder what happened and how for the rest of her life.”

                “But it’s the only way to save her.”

                “Yes.”

                “Then I have to do it.”

                “But would you being doing it for Ms. Chase or yourself?” That stopped me. My instinct was to say it was for Annabeth; of course it was for her. But then I realized I was being selfish. I didn’t want her to die. I needed her. I couldn’t do it without her. I opened my mouth, then closed it. “Just something to think about,” he said. I had no answer. There wasn’t one.

                “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.

                “This is the price of love. Why do you think the gods aren’t allowed to interact with their demigod children? Then hundreds of new demigods would become gods because their parent wouldn’t be able to stand watching them live in pain, but wouldn’t want to lose them,” he said.

                “That’s deep,” I said, dumbly. My Dad smiled.

                “I must be going now, Percy. Think about what I said. I have faith in you. You always make the right decision.” He chuckled. “Eventually.” With that he left.

*************************************************************************************

                I felt like I was in a worse stop then before. I got out of the water. I couldn’t make the decision, but I had a feeling no one else could make it for me. And Poseidon’s words echoed in my head. Was this for me or Annabeth? This was too hard. I put my face in my hands.

                “GAH!” I yelled. Everyone turned around. I walked back towards the Infirmary. I pushed open the door and walked over to Annabeth’s bed. She was moaning and groaning, and tossing and turning. Piper looked like she had been trying to calm down for a while and had given up. I went over to the bed.

                “What happened?” I asked.

“She’s been fighting,” said Piper, “she keeps mumbling something. I can’t get her to quiet down.” I nodded and then sat down at the end of her bed.

“Annabeth,” I said, softly, “it’s me, Percy. You’re alright. Hey.” I shook her slightly. She stopped fighting. She turned over, and grabbed my arm. She tried to flip me. I was dragged forward and slightly underneath Annabeth. “Ow,” I said. My face was pressed against the bed. I turned over and put my arms around her shoulders.

“Percy?” she whispered. I nodded. She hugged me and said two words.

“I can’t do it.”

*************************************************************************************

                Since she couldn’t do it, I had to. Decision made. I slipped out from her arms.

“You’re going to be fine,” I said. I reached for the bottle. Piper had left. I grabbed the bottle.

“Percy,” she said. I shushed her. I opened the bottle and poured some of it on the spoon.

“Open,” I said.

“Percy-,” she started. I cupped her cheek, and pushed the spoon against her lips. She swallowed. She made a small groaning noise and her eyes shut.

*************************************************************************************

                I sat by her bed the rest of the day. I got worried when she didn’t wake up. Then I got tired. And I fell asleep.

 

                I woke up early the next morning, just as Annabeth started to stir.

                “Hey,” I said. She blinked.

                “Percy?” I then said the first thing that popped into my head.

                “You drool in your sleep,” I said. She chuckled and sat up, throwing her arms around my shoulders. Everything would be fine. Everything would be great.           

**Author's Note:**

> So...surprise. I wrote this when I was 13, that's why it's so different from my normal stuff.
> 
> Roast me. Lemme know what y'all think.


End file.
